Background: The IOLMaster determines axial length using partial coherence interferometry. This study was designed to compare the refractive outcomes of patients who had been measured preoperatively by both immersion ultrasound and IOLMaster biometry. Methods: Patients were recruited from those who had undergone cataract surgery during the preceding 12 months by one surgeon at The Queen Elizabeth Hospital (55 eyes from 55 patients). Each patient underwent measurement of axial length by immersion ultrasound and the IOLMaster. Target refraction was determined using an SRK-T formula and the amount that this differed postoperative refraction was calculated for immersion ultrasound and the IOLMaster. These results were then compared. Results: Eyes measured longer by the IOLMaster method compared with immersion ultrasound (23.37 ± 0.87 vs. 23.25 ± 0.90 mm, t = 4.83; P < 0.0001). However anterior chamber depth was the similar. Postoperatively, final refractive outcome was 0.01 ± 0.63 dioptres (D) more hypermetropic than the target refraction when using the IOLMaster compared with 0.25 ± 0.73 D more myopic when using immersion ultrasound (t = 3.83; P < 0.0001). Seventy-five per cent of patients were within 0.5 D of target refraction and 93% were within 1.0 D when the IOLMaster was used, compared with 49% and 85% within 0.5 and 1.0 D respectively when using immersion ultrasound (χ2 = 8.34; P = 0.04). Conclusions: Biometry performed using the IOLMaster produces a more predictable refractive outcome than immersion ultrasound, with patients' spherical equivalent more likely to be closer to their target refraction